Parasite Black Guide

[Mrx Wylie]

As most people know the danger of eating black bears is the parasite Trichinosis. Trichinosis is a roundworm parasite that lives in the muscle tissues of large carnivores and omnivores such as mountain lions, grizzlies, pigs, wild hogs, and of course, black bears. Also, walrus but those tags are hard to draw in Wyoming. There are 6 forms of the actual parasite, but the most common found worldwide is called T. spiralis. The parasite infects a host when the larvae (which are encased in cysts in the muscle tissue of an infected animal) are eaten. The stomach acid releases the larvae which grow in the small bowel and they release more larvae which encase in the host bodies, striated muscle groups. Simply put, the egg lives inside the meat, eating it releases the larvae, they move into the muscle group, and repeat the cycle.

Luckily, however, all this scary stuff is very easy to avoid. Killing trichinosis in the meat is as simple as cooking to the right temperature. 160 is more than ample temperature to kill all forms of trichinosis that may be living in the muscle tissue. While freezing for at least 20+ days is known to kill most forms of trichinosis I cannot recommend this method as there are strains resistant to freezing. Due to lack of samples, it is widely unknown exactly what strains our local black bear population may actually have. This is why it is important, that we, as a hunting community, provide samples to researchers.

Dr. Berit Bangoura from the University of Wyoming Veterinary Service identifies the two best places to be the diaphragm of the animal as well as the tongue. Samples from these tissues often have the greatest density of trichinosis larvae. The best samples are cooled, not frozen, and are from within a few days. As discussed before, freezing may kill the larvae and tissues with live samples are the best to pull from. She did advise that while it is possible to have samples with little to no trichinosis in these groups, the animal may still have the parasite. Medicines may be needed if necessary. As a result of this, she advocates for safe handling of all bear or large carnivore meat. I encourage any fellow bear hunters to do their part and advocate for samples to be sent in when having their bear checked by game and fish.

In an attempt to advocate the safety of bear meat I constructed a recipe and along with my friend, Jess Johnson cooked a delicious backstrap roast from a black bear donated by the American Bear Foundation. The bear was harvested in the fall from the Bighorn Mountain Region. We were also given the tenderloins from the same bear and as is a tradition, we cooked those on the grill as well.

Place in an oven at 325 degrees for anywhere between 3-5 hours. Check the bear for an internal temp of 160 at the thickest part before serving sliced on a roll with BBQ sauce or a bed of mashed potatoes

The information provided in this guide is not intended to be a complete, detailed description of each parasite or parasite group and its characteristics but rather is intended to assist in the visual identification of some of the most common species or groups of parasites seen in freshwater fish. For further information on each parasite, refer to publications in the "Recommended Reading" and "Reference" sections below.

This document is FA-112, one of a series of the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date July 2005. Visit the EDIS website at for the currently supported version of this publication.

Deborah B. Pouder, coordinator of research programs and services; Eric W. Curtis, former biological scientist; and Roy P.E. Yanong, professor; Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.

With strict editorial sourcing guidelines, we only link to academic research institutions, reputable media sites and, when research is available, medically peer-reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses (1, 2, etc.) are clickable links to these studies.

This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by our trained editorial staff. Note that the numbers in parentheses (1, 2, etc.) are clickable links to medically peer-reviewed studies.

Our team includes licensed nutritionists and dietitians, certified health education specialists, as well as certified strength and conditioning specialists, personal trainers and corrective exercise specialists. Our team aims to be not only thorough with its research, but also objective and unbiased.

Parasitic infections have become more common with international travel over time. We now know that a variety of parasites can infect the intestinal tract, leading to a variety of digestive symptoms, such as constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, and heartburn, as well as fatigue and chills.

There are three main classes of parasites that can cause disease in humans: protozoa, helminths and ectoparasites. Examples of some serious parasitic diseases include filariasis, malaria and babesiosis.

Parasites are generally acquired from consuming contaminated food or water, but people with imbalanced gut flora, leaky gut syndrome or a weakened immune system may be more susceptible. Some can also be spread through the bite of a mosquito or sand fly, or transmitted to humans from animals such as cows and pigs that are infected with parasites like Cryptosporidium or Trichinella.

Another food that can be very healing when fighting harmful organisms in your GI system is pumpkin seeds, as well as pumpkin seed oil. Pumpkin seeds support gastrointestinal health because they contain certain antioxidants and other protective compounds, such as tetracyclic triterpenes and cucurbitins, that can paralyze worms and make it difficult for them to survive in the intestinal walls.

There are other differences between rabbits and hares. Hares tend to be considerably larger animals. Their babies are born fully furred and are able to scamper around within hours. Rabbits, on the other hand, are born hairless and largely helpless.

Jackrabbits are critters of relatively open country. Think sagebrush flats, deserts and grassy plains. They do need over, of course, and can be surprisingly tricky to spot, especially during the day. They are quite active at dawn and dusk, and you will often see them darting across the road during the night.

Black-tailed jackrabbit populations are cyclical. If you spend a lot of time exploring their habitat, as I do, this is quite noticeable. Some years, I can see dozens of jackrabbits in an outing. Other years, in the same place, I might struggle to catch a glimpse of one.

My home in Idaho has both black-tailed and white-tailed jackrabbits. But I never find the two species together. In my experience, the difference is elevational, with white-tailed jackrabbits found at 6,000 feet and above. There is evidence to support this observation in the literature. In part, it may just be that white-tailed jackrabbits are less adaptable than black-tailed jackrabbits.

The excellent reference guide Lagomorphs (Johns Hopkins Press) notes that black-tailed jackrabbits eat a wider range of vegetation, giving them a competitive advantage. With habitat degradation, black-tailed jackrabbits have expanded, while the range of white-tailed jackrabbits has contracted.

This is another charismatic jackrabbit, with the beautiful white sides that give the species its common name. It is fairly widespread if uncommon in a large area of Mexico (although more research is needed, a common theme with jackrabbit conservation).

The previous jackrabbits range over fairly wide areas and, while there may be conservation concerns (more on this in a bit) are not uncommon in suitable habitat. The Tehuantepec jackrabbit, on the contrary, is considered by some conservation biologists to be one of the most endangered mammals on earth.

Espiritu Santo Island is also home to feral goats, which could compete with the jackrabbits. Hunters pursue these goats, keeping their populations in check, but the hunters sometimes also target jackrabbits.

I live in Eastern Washington State. I am a photographer and have been spending a lot of time photographing these fascinating critters. We have black tailed jackrabbits locally but their numbers are greatly decreased or non-existent in some areas due to development.

My understanding is that our area, the Tri-cities, is the only area they exist in my state. Is there any efforts to preserve areas for these fascinating hares in my area?

Hi Tammy,

To date, most jackrabbit species have not attracted much conservation attention. They are still common in many parts of the western US, although not as common as they once were. Work by TNC and other organizations to conserve large, connected habitats help jackrabbits in addition to many other wildlife species. Hopefully attention from nature lovers like you will draw some research attention to these animals.

Migrating cells are guided in complex environments mainly by chemotaxis or structural cues presented by the surrounding tissue. During transmission of malaria, parasite motility in the skin is important for Plasmodium sporozoites to reach the blood circulation. Here we show that sporozoite migration varies in different skin environments the parasite encounters at the arbitrary sites of the mosquito bite. In order to systematically examine how sporozoite migration depends on the structure of the environment, we studied it in micro-fabricated obstacle arrays. The trajectories observed in vivo and in vitro closely resemble each other suggesting that structural constraints can be sufficient to guide Plasmodium sporozoites in complex environments. Sporozoite speed in different environments is optimized for migration and correlates with persistence length and dispersal. However, this correlation breaks down in mutant sporozoites that show adhesion impairment due to the lack of TRAP-like protein (TLP) on their surfaces. This may explain their delay in infecting the host. The flexibility of sporozoite adaption to different environments and a favorable speed for optimal dispersal ensures efficient host switching during malaria transmission.

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